Sonya McGinn, the Irish badminton champion, celebrated reaching her highest world and European ranking by making it to the final of the Portuguese Open in Lisbon yesterday, where she lost to the European number six, Ella Karachkova of Russia.

The Dubliner has climbed to 10 in the latest European rankings, after reaching the semi-finals of the Spanish Open and the final of the Irish International Championships before Christmas, and is now ranked 23 in the world. She will climb further in the next lists following her performances in Portugal.

McGinn beat Kirsteen McEwan (Scotland), Charmaine Reid (Canada) and Rebecca Pantaney (England) en route to Saturday's semi-final, where she produced her finest display of the season to defeat the European number two, Maja Pohar of Slovakia, 11-6, 11-7.

The Irish number one is well on course to qualify for next year's Olympic Games and she has received an added boost with the news that Irish Express Cargo Ltd has agreed to sponsor her in her attempt to qualify for Sydney. Her Portuguese success came at a price, however. "I had booked my flight home for Sunday morning, so when I was winning my semi on Saturday night I kept thinking, `Flip, flight or final?' I made the final, so now I have no idea how I'm going to make it back to Dublin," said McGinn, speaking from a bus bound for Lisbon airport yesterday. "I'm not bothered though, I'm absolutely chuffed with how the weekend went. So even if I have to sleep on a bench in Heathrow, what harm."